As he struggled to 22nd in last year ’ s championship , failing to score points in 15 of the 20 rounds , it was hard to believe Mir was a MotoGP™ World Champion as recently as 2020 . But a year ’ s worth of experience in the Repsol Honda Team aboard the RC213V , a switch to working with Marc Marquez ’ s old crew , and some drastic changes to the bike have led to a solid preseason . Mir is under no illusions with regards to the task ahead . He initially showed to be capable to taking on the mantle of factory leader early in the season . But recent results have been concerning .